Biografia

René Dupéré

Composer and Arranger

René Dupéré played a key role in shaping the artistic universe of Cirque du Soleil during its first ten years. His music for the shows Nouvelle Expérience, We Reinvent the Circus, Saltimbanco, Mystère and Alegría reverberated – and continue to reverberate – well beyond the big top.

In 1994-95, the albums Alegría and Mystère spent several weeks at the top of the Billboard charts in the world music category. In 1995 and again in 2004 the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal paid homage to the music of René Dupéré and Cirque du Soleil.

A master of hybrid musical styles, René composed some of the music for the ceremonies commemorating the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The following year he created the music for the world tour of Holiday on Ice, the Amsterdam-based ice ballet troupe. He has also written music for several television series and films.

René Dupéré’s talents have earned him a number of awards and distinctions. He is a two-time recipient of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) Hagood Hardy award. He is also known for “Ismya Vova,” composed for an Air Canada ad campaign, which won a Golden Award in 1998 at the New York Publicity festival for Best Original Music. Laval University awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to popular music in Quebec.

In 1998, René formed his own record company, Netza, and released his third album with the label in October 2002. In 2004 he returned to Cirque du Soleil for the first time since the creation of Alegría in 1994, to compose the music and create arrangements for the show KÀ.